A-Level Psychology Transition Booklet 2016/17 Student Name: Teacher Name: 1 P a g e
Contents Page Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 7 Page 8 Introduction Skill Development The Course Assessment Objectives Exam Questions Examples Page 11 Topic Questions Page 12 Essential and Wider Reading Page 13 Essential Websites / Documentaries / Radio Programmes In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, to struggle together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life. Albert Bandura 2 P a g e
Introduction First of all, welcome to A Level Psychology. This is always quite a hectic time for students & staff alike, so if you are feeling a bit lost, don t panic, Sixth Form life will settle down - honest! Secondly, well done for selecting Psychology as an area of study. Whatever the reasons for your choice we hope that you enjoy this course and that you gain much knowledge and pleasure from studying it. Psychology is one of the fastest growing subjects at A Level and beyond. Its growth in popularity has been enormous (perhaps a good topic for a psychological enquiry). It is a varied and exciting subject which uses many skills developed during your mainstream GCSE education. You will need to have an interest in the human mind, a clear scientific approach and sound analytical skills. By studying Psychology you will better understand yourself, the people around you and gain a stronger grasp of research methods. It can also help you become a better communicator and develop your critical thinking skills. See what some of our current students have to say At first I thought Psychology was going to be really difficult but the teachers are really helpful in making the information stick and helping you develop exam techniques David (Year 12 student) Everything I learnt in Psychology I was able to apply to my everyday life and the people around me. It has fostered my natural curiosity about the human mind and so I ve decided to study it further at University! Katie (Year 13 student) If you have any questions regarding the course please talk to us during class time or contact us via email. Staff Member Email Miss K Prendergast k.prendergast@haaf.org.uk Mr P Koureas p.koureas@haaf.org.uk 3 P a g e
Skill Development Psychology is a broad subject, and as such you will require a number of skills some of which need to be developed. Analytical skills are required in order to evaluate theories. We do this by making reference to relevant research evidence as well as evaluating the research in terms of methodology The new, linear A Level places a high demand on scientific thinking with 40% of the assessment marks coming from research methods and an appreciation of How Science Works. A further 10% will be assessed using Level 2 Mathematics skills and knowledge (GCSE maths). In order to assist you and to ensure that you obtain the highest grades possible a Psychology induction programme has been created that focuses on developing these skills. The programme will span the first Askean term (1 st sixth weeks) and we hope that by the end of it you will be able to access all parts of the curriculum. You will also be given a progress tracker. You will be required to fill this in as and when you develop new skills and knowledge. The focus of the tracker is on confirming that you have acquired the skills and/or knowledge and for the purpose of progression. It is imperative that you are honest with yourself when filling in each section. Mr Koureas says Don t be too harsh on yourself when filling in the tracker! If you are.you will either think you re not making any progress or put yourself under excessive and unneeded stress! At the same time Miss Prendergast suggest; Don t be too generous either if you tick everything off even when you lack the skills / knowledge you will be creating a false sense of security and ultimately this can lead to poor performance in your exams and in extreme cases failure! 4 P a g e
The Course The exam board for your Psychology course is AQA. You can find out more information about the Specification by visiting the AQA website http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/psychology/as-and-a-level All students will be entered for the FULL two year A-Level course (Year 1 and 2). In Year 1 students will cover the Year 1 (AS) Specification along with the additional components for the topic areas from Year 2. 5 P a g e
Paper 1 : Introductory Topics in Psychology. Topics: 1. Social Influence 2. Memory 3. Attachment 4. Psychopathology All studied in Year 12 (2 hour written exam / 96 marks / 33.3% of A level sat at the end of Year 13) Paper 2 : Psychology in context Topics: 5. Research Methods (Studied in year 1) 6. Bio Psychology (Studied in year 1) (with additional content, studied in year 2) 7. Inferential Statistics (Studied in year 2 (2 hour written exam / 96 marks / 33.3% of A level sat at the end of Year 13) Paper 3 : Issues and Options in Psychology Topics: 8. Relationships 9. Schizophrenia 10. Criminology (2 hour written exam / 96 marks / 33.3% of A level sat at the end of Year 13) 6 P a g e
Assessment Objectives You will be required to answer a range of exam questions both in lessons and for homework. At A Level exam questions include multiple choice, short answer and extended answer questions worth 16 marks. At this level you are expected to show greater insight of issues, debates and approaches in Psychology, as well as more developed evaluation. How will I be assessed? What are the skills I will need? You will be assessed using three key assessment objectives (AO s). These also detail the skills you will need to perfect whilst on the Psychology course. AO1 Knowledge and Understanding: You can do this in an exam by describing or outlining studies or theories in detail using key terms. By doing this you are showing you know and understand! AO2 Application: In an exam situation you might be given a scenario or stimulus to apply your psychological knowledge to. To do this you have to really interpret theories, concepts and studies and select the most appropriate ones to talk about, linking back to the scenario you are given. AO3 Analysis & Evaluation: In an exam this is the critical thinking assessment objective. To achieve this you need to discuss strengths and weaknesses of Psychological theories and studies. You may also make comparisons by considering which theories/studies are the best. 7 P a g e
Exam Questions Examples Describe and evaluate two studies of social influence. [12 marks] Marks for this question: AO1 = 6 and AO3 = 6 Asch looked at the effect of variables like task difficulty, unanimity and group size on conformity. People in a group of 7/8 took turns to say which line (of 3) was the same as a target line X. All except one of the group were confederates of the researcher primed to give wrong answers on some trials. Asch recorded how many times participants conformed to an obviously wrong answer given by the majority and found conformity occurred 32% of the time. Milgram s mock learning experiment on obedience involved a naïve participant administering increasingly severe shocks to a stranger. The shocks were fake and the stranger was an actor. When the actor, sitting behind a screen, made mistakes in a test, the real participants had to press a shock lever. At a certain voltage the actor protested and then he fell quiet. If the participant protested the researcher used verbal prompts like you must go on. 65% of people who started to give shocks went up to the maximum lethal voltage of 450v. In evaluation, both studies were a child of the times - they probably got the results they did because of social attitudes just after WW2. People had been used to working collectively during war time and so were inclined to conform and obey authority. Nowadays the same level of social influence might not occur because individualism and independent thought is more valued. Therefore we might question the temporal validity of the findings. Both studies could also be criticised for being unethical. Asch deceived participants with his use of stooges and put them in a stressful, embarrassing situation physiological measures indicated increased anxiety just before they gave their response. Milgram caused even greater stress as people believed they were shocking another person. In both studies participants were deceived they were later debriefed but does this justify what was done in the first place? On the other hand, if Milgram s research had not been done we would not understand why real people carry out horrendous acts in an agentic state, not feeling responsible for their actions. After Milgram s study participants said they were glad to have taken part. Perhaps we should be grateful to Asch and Milgram for telling us about human nature but also relieved that psychologists cannot conduct such research these days because there are now codes of ethical conduct from the APS and BPS 8 P a g e
Examiner s Comment: Knowledge of two studies is accurate the descriptions are focused and well detailed. The approach to evaluation is interesting, covering both studies at the same time. Two issues are dealt with very effectively with considerable elaboration and counterargument. The answer is clear, organised and coherent. Specialist terminology is used appropriately throughout (e.g. child of the times, temporal validity, agentic state). This is a clear Level 4 answer given the time available it is difficult to see how the student could have done more. Mark awarded = 12 (full marks!) 9 P a g e
Read the item and then answer the question that follows: Proud father Abdul was talking to his friend, as they were both watching Abdul s wife, Tasneem, interacting with their baby daughter, Aisha. It s amazing really, said Abdul. Tasneem smiles, Aisha smiles back. Tasneem moves her head, Aisha moves hers, perfectly in time with each other. Yes, agreed the friend. It s almost as if they are one person. With reference to Abdul s conversation with his friend, outline two features of caregiver-infant interaction. [4 marks] One example of the caregiver-infant interaction shown is when Aisha smiles to Tasneem which is a social releaser as it makes Aisha, the baby more desirable, to be played with, showing secure attachment. Another example is imitation as Aisha imitates Tasneem s behaviour like smiling and moving her head. This causes a close bond between Tasneem and Aisha as they spend longer time together doing the same behaviours. Examiner s Comment: The student is awarded 1 mark for an outline of a social releaser (smiling making the baby more desirable, to be played with). A second mark is awarded for application to the stem when Aisha smiles to Tasneem. The student also outlines imitation (doing the same behaviours) together with an appropriate example Aisha imitates Tasneem s behaviour like smiling and moving her head a further 2 marks. Mark awarded = 4 (full marks!!) 10 P a g e
Topic Questions Memory: 1. According to the multi-store model of memory, there are several ways in which short-term memory and long-term memory differ. Explain how the findings of one or more studies demonstrate that short-term memory and long-term memory are different. (4 marks) 2. Claire can search through family photos on her laptop and listen to music at the same time. However, she finds it difficult to read her e-mails when talking to a friend on the phone. Use your knowledge of the working memory model to explain why Claire is able to perform the first two tasks at the same time, but finds it difficult to perform the second two tasks at the same time. (4 marks) 3. Some psychologists argue that there is always more information about an event in a person s memory than can be recalled at any one time. This means that eyewitness recall can be improved by using certain techniques and methods. Describe and evaluate at least one way of improving eye-witness recall. Refer to evidence in your answer. (16 marks) Attachment: 1. Name three stages in the development of attachments identified by Schaffer. (3 marks) 2. Outline and evaluate research into the effects of failure to form attachment. (16 marks) 3. Outline and evaluate research into the effects of institutionalisation. (16 marks) Social Psychology: 1. Identify and briefly discuss two reasons why people have criticised Zimbardo s prison study. (6 marks) 2. Briefly outline and evaluate the authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience to authority. (4 marks) 3. Explain how a minority can bring about social change. (4 marks) 11 P a g e
Essential and Wider Reading Textbook(s) This will be given to you by the school 12 P a g e
Essential Websites / Documentaries / Radio Programmes Are there any useful websites / documentaries (YouTube / Podcasts etc.) and/or Radio Programmes that you can recommend? http://www.ted.com http://www.simplypsychology.org/a-level-psychology.html http://www.loopa.co.uk/ http://www.psyarticles.com/ http://www.bps.org.uk/ http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/psychology 13 P a g e